A day before Chhath Puja, the four-day long festival of Sun worship, Urban Development Minister CP Singh visited the Chhath ghats of Ranchi, inspecting them for cleanliness and safety arrangements.
Accompanied by lok Sabha MP Ramtahal Choudhary, Municipal Commissioner Prashant Kumar, Mayor Asha lakra and Deputy Mayor Sanjeev Vijaywargia along with other RMC functionaries and members of Chhath Puja committee, Singh began his rounds with Kanke Dam on Saturday and extended it to other water bodies in Ranchi on Saturday.
Singh instructed barricading to be put up in Kanke Dam, Ranchi lake and Argora Pond in order to keep devotees from entering deeper areas of these water bodies. He also instructed divers to be deployed near all major water bodies where devotees gather during Chhath Puja.
Appreciating the cleanliness drives conducted by Ranchi Municipal Corporation before the festival, Singh instructed the approach roads and banks of all water bodies where Chhath ghats are made to be cleaned and sprinkled with bleaching powder.
“The pond-weed should be removed from these water bodies so that the devotees do not face any problems while performing the rituals. Also, the construction work going on near Jail Pond should be stopped for the duration of the festival. Also, the devotees should immerse the ritual items in designated water pits only,” Singh said.
Meanwhile, Ranchi SSP Prabhat Kumar also visited the Chhath ghats of the city to take stock of security arrangements there, beginning with the one at Nakshtra Van near Raj Bhawan.
“We have deployed around 200 policemen at Chhath ghats as security detail. Apart from this, we also have received support from National Disaster Response Force that has sent a 35 member strong team to Ranchi in light of Chhath Puja. We will be deploying them at major water bodies in teams of five. Also, like idol immersion ceremonies during Durga Puja, we will be stationing expert divers from police force for rescue operations,” SSP said.